Microglia are immune system cells associated with senile plaques containing β-amyloid (Aβ) in Alzheimer's disease. Although microglia are an integral part of senile plaques, their role in the ...development of Alzheimer's disease is not known. Because microglia are phagocytic cells, it has been suggested that microglia may function as plaque-attacking scavenger cells. Microglia bind and internalize microaggregates of Aβ that resemble those present in dense Alzheimer's disease plaques. In this study, we compared the degradation by microglia of Aβ microaggregates with the degradation of two other proteins, acetylated low density lipoprotein and α2-macroglobulin. We found that the majority of the internalized Aβ in microaggregates was undegraded 72 h after uptake, whereas 70–80% of internalized acetylated low density lipoprotein or α2-macroglobulin was degraded and released from cells in trichloroacetic acid-soluble form after 4 h. In the continued presence of fluorescent Aβ microaggregates for 4 days, microglia took up huge amounts of Aβ and became engorged with undigested material. These data suggest that microglia can slowly degrade limited amounts of Aβ plaque material, but the degradation mechanisms can be overwhelmed by larger amounts of Aβ.
The evolution of Earth-like habitable planets is a complex process that depends on the geodynamical and geophysical environments. In particular, it is necessary that plate tectonics remain active ...over billions of years. These geophysically active environments are strongly coupled to a planet's host star parameters, such as mass, luminosity and activity, orbit location of the habitable zone, and the planet's initial water inventory. Depending on the host star's radiation and particle flux evolution, the composition in the thermosphere, and the availability of an active magnetic dynamo, the atmospheres of Earth-like planets within their habitable zones are differently affected due to thermal and nonthermal escape processes. For some planets, strong atmospheric escape could even effect the stability of the atmosphere.
By now many authors regard arthroscopic synovectomy an integral part of therapeutic treatment of many rheumatic diseases with favourable results on post operating course and clinical picture in the ...long term. The pathologic synovial tissue during articular inflammatory rheumatism is well known to have a damaging effect responsible of early cartilage injury, as well as symptomatic action (e.g. articular stiffness, effusion, pain, functional limitation). Therefore to value the removal of such a tissue you should think of the secondary prevention of cartilage injury, besides the symptomatic point of view. Since 1996 we performed 190 arthroscopic synovectomy, the adopted criteria of judgement were: pain (spontaneous, during active and passive movements), effusion or swelling presence, articular range and cartilage state (evaluated during arthroscopy according to Outerbridg's classification). 70% of the cases showed good results and six years later the beginning of this activity we retain arthroscopic synovectomy as a valid help in articular inflammatory rheumatism treatment.
We present the first long baseline mid-infrared interferometric observations of the circumstellar disks surrounding Herbig Ae/Be stars. The observations were obtained using the mid-infrared ...interferometric instrument MIDI at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope Interferometer VLTI on Cerro Paranal. The 102 m baseline given by the telescopes UT1 and UT3 was employed, which provides a maximum full spatial resolution of 20 milli-arcsec (mas) at a wavelength of 10 μm. The interferometric signal was spectrally dispersed at a resolution of 30, giving spectrally resolved visibility information from 8 μm to 13.5 μm. We observed seven nearby Herbig Ae/Be stars and resolved all objects. The warm dust disk of HD 100546 could even be resolved in single-telescope imaging. Characteristic dimensions of the emitting regions at 10 μm are found to be from 1 AU to 10 AU. The 10 μm sizes of our sample stars correlate with the slope of the 10–25 μm infrared spectrum in the sense that the reddest objects are the largest ones. Such a correlation would be consistent with a different geometry in terms of flaring or flat (self-shadowed) disks for sources with strong or moderate mid-infrared excess, respectively. We compare the observed spectrally resolved visibilities with predictions based on existing models of passive centrally irradiated hydrostatic disks made to fit the SEDs of the observed stars. We find broad qualitative agreement of the spectral shape of visibilities corresponding to these models with our observations. Quantitatively, there are discrepancies that show the need for a next step in modelling of circumstellar disks, satisfying both the spatial constraints such as are now available from the MIDI observations and the flux constraints from the SEDs in a consistent way.
As a response to ESA call for mission concepts for its Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, we propose a mission called
Darwin
. Its primary goal is the study of terrestrial extrasolar planets and the ...search for life on them. In this paper, we describe different characteristics of the instrument.
The recommendations for the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee firstly proposed by the EULAR in 2000, have been updated in 2003. One of the most important objectives of the expert charged ...to provide these recommendations was their dissemination. Thus, the information generated may be used by each individual country to produce their own set of management guidelines and algorithms for treatment in primary care. The Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) and the Italian League against Rheumatism (LIMAR) have organised a Consensus on the EULAR recommendations 2003 with the aim to analyse their acceptability and applicability according to our own experience and local situations in the Italy. The results of this Consensus have demonstrated that a large majority of the EULAR recommendations are endorsed by the Italian experts. Furthermore, the final document of the Italian Consensus clearly indicated the need that specialists involved in the management of knee OA strongly encourage the dissemination of the EULAR 2003 recommendations also in Italy.
We describe the scientific motivations, the mission concept and the instrumentation of
SPACE
, a class-M mission proposed for concept study at the first call of the ESA
Cosmic-Vision 2015–2025
...planning cycle.
SPACE
aims to produce the largest three-dimensional evolutionary map of the Universe over the past 10 billion years by taking near-IR spectra and measuring redshifts for more than half a billion galaxies at 0 <
z
< 2 down to
AB
~23 over 3
π
sr of the sky. In addition,
SPACE
will also target a smaller sky field, performing a deep spectroscopic survey of millions of galaxies to
AB
~26 and at 2 <
z
< 10 +. These goals are unreachable with ground-based observations due to the ≈500 times higher sky background (see e.g. Aldering, LBNL report number LBNL-51157,
2001
). To achieve the main science objectives,
SPACE
will use a 1.5 m diameter Ritchey-Chretien telescope equipped with a set of arrays of Digital Micro-mirror Devices covering a total field of view of 0.4 deg
2
, and will perform large-multiplexing multi-object spectroscopy (e.g. ≈6000 targets per pointing) at a spectral resolution of R~400 as well as diffraction-limited imaging with continuous coverage from 0.8 to 1.8 μm. Owing to the depth, redshift range, volume coverage and quality of its spectra,
SPACE
will reveal with unique sensitivity most of the fundamental cosmological signatures, including the power spectrum of density fluctuations and its turnover.
SPACE
will also place high accuracy constraints on the dark energy equation of state parameter and its evolution by measuring the baryonic acoustic oscillations imprinted when matter and radiation decoupled, the distance-luminosity relation of cosmological supernovae, the evolution of the cosmic expansion rate, the growth rate of cosmic large-scale structure, and high-
z
galaxy clusters. The datasets from the
SPACE
mission will represent a long lasting legacy for the whole astronomical community whose data will be mined for many years to come.
Arthroscopy is a mini-invasive technique that allows the direct observation of the joint cavity and the execution of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures; arthroscopy needs a very long learning-time ...curve as well as dedicated spaces and instruments. Ultrasonography is an imaging technique that enables to perform an immediate extension of the standard physical examination. The opportunity to visualize soft tissues, to obtain multiplanar and dynamic images in real time makes this practice easy repeatable at low costs. Ultrasonography allows to detect a variety of changes during inflammatory processes. The wide experience in arthroscopy of rheumatic patients acquired through the years by our team at the G. Pini Institute led us to study in vivo, during arthroscopy, the correspondence between arthroscopic and ultrasonographic images. Up to now three knee arthroscopies have been conducted with the double equipment (ultrasonographic and arthroscopic devices) in operating room. In our experience, the combination of the two methods in operating room may improve the validation of ultrasonography with arthroscopy as gold standard, helps to train the ultrasonographer to give immediate answers in order to clear the doubts aroused by ultrasonographic images; it also allows the arthroscopist to visualize the deeper layers of the synovial membrane making double guided targeted biopsies possible. Limits are the complexity of the procedure (instruments, operators, spaces, training of the doctors), the loose of power-doppler signal with the blood tourniquet and the always difficult evaluation of cartilage.
PDF
